SIDEWALK
PAINTINGS

GRAFFITI STREET ART

Sidewalk Paintings & Graffiti Street
Art! One of the most interesting way to exhibit my artwork outside (literally)
of galleries and art events is as a street artist. I have experimented with
several different types of public art including live mural paintings on the
sidewalks of downtown Toronto & New York, renegade
graffiti images thrown up all over alleyways and construction hoardings, random
creations left around the city and a few large scale wall murals. Exhibiting in the streets is generally the
most exciting place for me because I always get inspired by the reactions and
interactions that occur during public interventions. From 2004-2008 I worked
full time as a performer in the city of Toronto
and was able to meet thousands of people from all over the world. I used the
downtown sidewalks as my open studio and was able to connect with the city in
an indescribable way one could never have in a regular studio practice.

Not only
is public art really interesting because of the unexpected things that happen
in an uncontrolled environment but it is also an invaluable opportunity to
communicate with people who might never go into an art gallery. I met people of
all ages and from all walks of life out there. I befriended several of the
homeless people from the neighborhood and met important curators and writers
from the art world. The diverse experience of beoing a street artist made those
years some of the best in my life.

More
recently I have continued my public practice through numerous large scale mural
projects. Some of these artworks have been sponsored by the city of Toronto and Business
Improvement Associations. While my ambitions towards making animation and comic
books basically forced me off the streets as a full time performer (there is a
limit to the kind of work one can do in the middle of a busy, dusty, noisy city
square) I have found a way to maintain a public dialogue through wall
paintings. In 2012 I completed works in the St Lawrence & Kensington
Markets, two historical sites in Toronto and in 2013 I became the first artist
to legitimately “take over” a construction hoarding as part of a city wide
public art initiative.